CONNECTING PEOPLE

Welcome - This blog was created to discuss the common questions and topics concerning the start-up and ongoing operations ofA Brush with Kindness and Age in Place

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

ABWK - Long Term Success and Sustainability

I have spent the past 12 years developing a successful program that helps families preserve a safe, decent home. A Brush with Kindness complements our home building and helps to increase the impact and elevate the visibility we have in our community.

I also spent 4 years working with HFHI to train affiliates through 7 highly interactive workshops that showed how ABWK was a relatively easy, transferable concept that could be used to help any affiliate be more successful at helping families live in a decent home. Most affiliates could quickly serve at least 25 families a year with the proper training and without a lot of capital expenditure.

However, what once was a simple concept of putting together volunteer groups with families in need has become a more complicated set of programs and initiatives that require much more resources and seems driven by temporary funding and being able to offer "program products" rather than meeting family needs.

Offering families housing services that meet urgent needs and can serve a critical mass will create a program that is sustainable and will make a significant impact on your community. A new program may struggle and be short lived without fully understanding a communities critical housing needs.

Whatever type of program(s) your affiliate offers, carefully consider the needs of your stakeholders. Creating a successful program will grow out of listening, understanding and then providing renovation services that will grow into a valuable and sustainable resource for your community.abwk habitat for humanity

ABWK in the Twin Cities, MN

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Messages That Matter

It is important to find messages that comunicate the essence of your new program. The public will pick up on those messages that connect with their values. We have used "Ever have a brush with kindness?" and "Connecting people... Restoring homes" as well as key quotes and scripture that resonate with our constituents. Check out the slide show below to see quotes that have inspired our messaging.

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About Me

I founded A Brush with Kindness 20 years ago. With tremendous support from the Valspar corporation, we created a program that helped preserve homeownership throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area so that families could continue to live in a safe, healthy home. I have helped to start over 100 programs throughout the US and in several countries as a consultant with HFHI. I currently direct the Age in Place program at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Locally, A Brush with Kindness serves about 80 families each year. Feel free to contact me for more information at plund@abwk.net.